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While it's not quite the 2009 Cash for Clunkers program, it's a
nice gesture with a clear mission: get the most polluting cars
off Colorado roads.

If you're a Coloradan who owns a pre-1990 car, donate it to the
Clear the Air Foundation and the ReForest Colorado program will
plant a tree in an area
affected by natural disasters or in another location that needs
tree cover.

You will also receive a tax credit for the value of the donated
vehicle, which the Foundation sends to an auto scrapyard for
dismantling and recycling.

Working with the 130 members of the Colorado Auto Recyclers, the
Foundation ensures that the car and its emissions are removed
from the roads forever. The engine and body are destroyed, though
smaller parts may be resold.

That distinguishes the program from other charity auto-donation
schemes, which usually resell even the oldest and most polluting
cars, keeping many of them on the road.

Donors can take the same tax deduction for vehicles given to the
Clear the Air Foundation as they would under any charity donation
scheme.

Any money earned from selling the cars to scrappers is donated by
the foundation to support aid to Colorado citizens with
respiratory conditions and to fund scholarships for students
interested in automotive and technology fields.

Launched at last month's Denver Auto Show, the "Trees For
Trade-Ins" program is one initiative from the Clear the Air
Foundation. The tree-planting offer is aimed at attracting
consumers to donate their old cars directly to the foundation; it
already receives dealer donations of cars acquired through
trade-ins.

Clear the Air was founded by the Colorado Auto Dealers
Association in 2010 to remove 1,000 high-emitting vehicles each
year from the state's roads, along with promoting state
reforesting efforts.

A single "gross polluting" vehicle can produce as much tailpipe
emissions as 100 new cars today, which is why California and
other states have programs that target the oldest vehicles still
in daily use. (Classic and collector cars typically log very low
annual mileage, so their overall impact is far lower.)

The initiative is thought to be the first of its kind in the
nation. It also, of course, likely helps to sell new cars in the
process.

So far, the foundation has removed 200 high-emissions vehicles
from the roads of Colorado--all contributed thus far by auto
dealers, not individuals.